We’re not saviors of the universe, but we will save every one of us from subpar movie fandom. That’s right, The Pick is back with a look at the 1980 revival of the legendary comic book character, Flash Gordon. We get a bit into the history of this ancient franchise as well as the various attempts to bring him to the big screen, which ultimately resulted in this Dino De Laurentiis-backed production. However, we fail to get to the bottom of why Queen was involved with the film’s delicious soundtrack, but instead are content to merely appreciate this clash of theatrical rock music and over-the-top sci-fi. Continue reading →

Before the holidays are upon us, we thought we’d drop a little bonus pod as a gift to anyone willing to hear us grumble about a half-baked Dwayne Johnson/Chris Evans vehicle. Here, we review the biggest Christmas movie of this holiday season, Red One, even if its bigness is by its own design and not really something anyone asked for. Maybe you could call us a bunch of grinches for not really getting into the holiday spirit with this movie, but it’s a little hard when it never fully commits to its yuletide potential and The Rock seems so checked out on this one.

This will be our last episode of The Pick for a few months, and luckily we picked a fun one. On this episode, we review Battle Beyond The Stars, both as a tribute to legendary producer Roger Corman (who passed away last month) and also as a tribute to the enthusiasm we once had for Star Wars. We get into the distinctive team of unknown filmmakers that brought the film to life, while also getting into all of its various eccentricities that make it both an unmistakable Corman production, but also more than just a knock-off of perhaps the biggest movie franchise of all time. Continue reading →

Despite the gap, we keep things in line with our previous episode by staying in the heist genre in this episode with the Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges vehicle Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. Though things had changed a bit in the heist movie by the time of the film’s 1971 release, there are still plenty of touchstones it shares with our previous film, The Asphalt Jungle. We get into the film’s buddy vibes, hangout vibes, and indispensable George Kennedy vibes. Mostly, it’s just a movie about guys enjoying each other’s company, which feels about as appropriate as it gets for The Pick. Continue reading →

Do you know where you are? You’re in The Asphalt Jungle, baby. And you’re gonna see some guys die! Or just get caught while trying to pull off a heist. This episode, we’re keeping it in the ’50s again with one of the more influential caper flicks of all time, while also looking a bit at the multi-faceted career of director John Huston. We also spend a lot of time discussing big knives, big guns, and big books on the movie posters of Hollywood’s past eras. Continue reading →

This episode, we’re getting a little antsy while talking about those giant invasive species from 1954’s Them! We’re celebrating the film’s 70th anniversary by taking a look at the era of 3-D glasses, communist paranoia, and giant monsters borne of the atomic bomb. There’s also plenty of talk regarding the Wilhelm scream, the legendary stock sound that was used in Them! as well as countless other later films that caused it to become one cinema’s most prolific easter eggs. Continue reading →